Lions: Three Quarterbacks to target in free agency
By Bob Heyrman
The Detroit Lions had little hope if everyone remained healthy, but nothing signaled the end more than losing their franchise quarterback for the season.
A plan B is vital in all aspects of regular daily life. If things don’t turn out the way you expect them too, you always need a backup plan. It can be as simple as a road closure, a store closure, a restaurant renovation, or a vehicle not starting. The Detroit Lions failed to put a backup plan in place regarding their franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Moving forward, it should be imperative for the Lions to add a backup quarterback that is capable of keeping this team afloat.
Detroit hasn’t maintained a solid backup quarterback since Shaun Hill. They’ve tried with Dan Orlovsky, but he tended to run out the back of his endzone, prompting a safety. There have been others, Drew Stanton, Daunte Culpepper, Jake Rudock, and Matt Cassel. Culpepper, in particular, was a better quarterback than Hill but not during his time in Detroit.
Cassel was with Detroit last season, allowing Rudock an opportunity elsewhere. Well, that’s how the Lions spun it. I feel Matt Patricia added Cassel as a comfort move more than anything. We all know he loves to add former Patriots. The brighter step would have been keeping Rudock.
This season Detroit has rostered what seems like 100 quarterbacks and has settled with Jake Driskel and David Blough. Driskel is currently on IR with just about every other Lion you can think of, leaving Blough to limp the offense as best he can.
Detroit has maintained a respectable offense, which still ranks 14th in the league even with the absence of Matthew Stafford. It’s an offense that’s excelled the first 8 weeks of the season with Stafford at the controls and Darrell Bevell in the control tower.
Detroit needs to find a capable QB that can keep the team afloat if something were to happen to an aging quarterback that has suffered a broken back. Just look at what New Orleans was able to do minus Drew Brees. Teddy Bridgewater guided the Saints to a 5-0 record.
Here are a few to consider this offseason;